Only in America
by aven91
Summary: Tony plays matchmaker with Steve and introduces him to a single mother with a six year old daughter and both of them turn his whole life upside down.
1. Chapter 1

Steve didn't want to go. There was no secret in that. The only reason why he agreed was because Tony had JARVIS follow him around with a recording of Tony making the most annoying sound he could possibly make. Everyone had agreed to go immediately after they had found out the reason behind the trip. Tony had suddenly decided that he was tired of having Steve around so much and he needed to get out and meet someone. Preferably a woman. And he knew just the woman.

Steve didn't care for what passed as a woman nowadays. They hardly left anything to the imagination. Not to mention most of them were shallow and just straight up snobs. Steve had learned that from all the women that Tony brought in with him. If a man had no money, then a woman didn't want anything to do with that man. It wasn't like he didn't have money, but he sure as hell didn't want a woman claiming her love for him when all she was interested in was his money.

The limo pulled up in front of the massive warehouse like building out in the middle of nowhere am hour or so outside of New York City. The parking lot was filled with all kinds of different types of vehicles. There was a giant sign on the front of the warehouse. There were the words colored red, white, and blue against a blank background. Only in America was the name of the place. Steve had never heard of it, but Clint was really excited about it. He said he'd go there any chance he got before SHIELD gave him more responsibilities.

"Why didn't you tell me that you knew Katie?" Clint asked Tony. Tony gave him a strange look as he opened the door.

"You never asked. "Clint rolled his eyes sliding out of the limo behind him.

"Uncle Tony!" was the first thing they heard when they opened the doors. Tony fell to his knees as a little brunette of around five dove into his arms. He stood with her in his arms groaning as he did so.

"You're getting too big for this, Monkey. " The little girl stuck her tongue out at him and he put her down. "Where's your Mommy?" Monkey cringed.

"Mommy is a little mad right now." Tony narrowed his eyes crossing his arms.

"What did you do now?"

"Nothing," Monkey said putting her hands on her hips. Tony made a noise that he clearly didn't believe her. "I didn't do nothing."

"Anything," Tony corrected.

"Now you're making me mad." Tony winked at her.

"Where is your mom?"

"I'm right here." Steve's male ego made him do a double take as Monkey's mother walked into the room, but his chivalry made him look away. She was wearing a pair of baggy pants with the rim of basketball shorts peering out and had a black sports bra. Steve tried to steal another glance of her as she stepped into Tony's arms and gave him a bear hug.

"Monkey says you're mad," Tony said as she pulled away from him.

"I'm beyond that. I'm straight up pissed." Monkey put her hands on her hips glaring up at her mother. The woman slouched then reached into her pocket and pulled out a dollar bill and then handed it to Monkey. Tony chuckled looking at his teammates.

"Oh yeah. Katie, Monkey, I'd like to introduce you to The Avengers." Steve frowned. This was the woman Tony wanted to introduce him to? She was a mother of a six year old. She had to be older than him by a few years at least. Steve couldn't believe him!

Katie seemed to ignore everyone as they have them their real names. Monkey, however, was absolutely starstruck. She was staring at everyone, but when her eyes landed on Steve, she smiled. Steve couldn't help but smile back.

"You're Captain America!" she exclaimed pointing a finger at him. Steve chuckled.

"That's right." Monkey walked up to him with her eyes wide.

"You're my favorite," she said I in awe.

"Hey!" Tony said crossing his arms. Katie covered her mouth with her hand to hide the laughter. Steve knelt down to eye level with Monkey.

"No one can know who I really am, though. So, it'll be our little secret. Deal?" He held his hand out to her to seal the deal. Monkey narrowed her eyes.

"What's in it for me?" Katie slapped Tony's shoulder. He glared at her rubbing his shoulder.

"I told you that she was learning bad habits from you!" Katie hissed at him. Tony made a face at her.

"What would you like?" Steve asked narrowing his eyes. Monkey rubbed her nose as if in thought.

"How much money do you have on you?" Everyone hit the ground laughing except Steve and Katie. Steve wasn't sure how to react. Especially when Katie came up and put her arm around Monkey's waist and carried her out of the room hissing that she was grounded from her Uncle Tony.

When the door closed, Tony appeared next to Steve. Tony made no move to speak, but the way he was looking at Steve said it all.

"How old is she?" Steve asked crossing his arms. Tony grinned looking at the door Katie had disappeared through, then up to Steve.

"She's twenty three. Monkey is six."

"Why are you... What's the phrase... 'hook me up' with single mother?"

"Why is that a problem?" Steve went to say something, but was interrupted by Thor slapping a hand down on his shoulder. Steve glared at him since it hurt.

"It matters not for she is, how you say on Midgard, he bellowed.

"Shut up, Thor," Natasha said pushing Thor away from Steve. She turned to Steve crossing her arms. "Look, Steve, Tony doesn't mean you should marry the woman, but I do agree with him he wants you to get out. All work and no play makes Stevie a dull boy. Go out and have fun."

"This is really awkward, you guys," he said running the back of his neck. "If I wanted to find someone, I'd go out and meet someone."

"If that's the truth, then why did you come?" Bruce wondered aloud.

"Because Tony made JARVIS follow me around until I agreed to come." Clint let out a laugh of pity.

"Dude, quit acting like you haven't noticed that Katie is an utter babe. Your eyes nearly melted out of your head when she walked in." Steve sighed.

Leave it to Clint to see every little detail at any given time. Sure she was attractive, but she had a child. A six year old child. She was only seventeen when Monkey was born. She could have had a list of sexual partners as long as her arm. His list, well, his list was none existent.

"I never said she didn't look good."

"It's just the fact that she has a kid," Tony said sounding truly offended. He stepped forward and poked a finger in his chest to help get the point across. "You're judging her just because she had a baby at seventeen. You don't know what that woman has been through, what she's done for herself and her daughter, or how hard she works everyday to give her daughter the life she never had." He stopped staring into his eyes with anger. His jaw was tight, his frown unlike anything that they had ever seen.

The door that Katie had disappeared through opened again and Monkey came skateboarding out wearing a helmet that wasn't strapped. She skillfully went around the group and disappeared down the hallway on the other side of the room. Katie came rushing out behind her.

"Strap your helmet, brat! I'm not letting you run my hospital bills up again!" A faint "okay" echoed from down the hallway. Katie sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "She's not going to strap her helmet."

"Nope," Tony agreed walking to Katie and put an arm around her shoulders. "So, what's with all the stress?" Katie rubbed her face then leaned her head against Tony's shoulder.

"Summer break is coming up so I ordered a bunch of guns and ammo and not even half of it arrived.

" Guns and ammo?" Natasha muttered to Clint.

"Paintball guns and paintballs." Natasha made a sound that she understood.

"Is there anything I can do?" Tony offered in a baby voice. Katie looked up at him.

"Make sure my order gets straightened out. I've got a fight in an hour." Tony kissed her forehead then leaned his cheek against the top of her head.

"Of course. Go get ready. We'll be watching." Katie frowned at him.

"You mean that all of you will be watching my flight?" Tony nodded. Katie sighed letting her head fall. "Perfect, as if today wasn't stressful enough as it is." She disappeared down the hallway Monkey had left through. Tony glared at Steve.

"You above all people should understand that you can't judge someone on their appearance." Tony pulled out his phone and began working away at something. "Let's go." He walked to the hallway. Everyone followed except Steve and Bruce.

Steve started at his boots. He made a fool of himself and made himself look like a jerk all in one fell swoop. He couldn't believe the assumptions he had of Katie when they hadn't even shared a hello. Just because she had a daughter at a very young age didn't mean she wasn't a good woman. There could have been many reasons why she had a daughter, though mostly the reasons were more disturbing than not.

"I'm a jerk, aren't I, Bruce?" Bruce shoved his hands in his pockets turning to a picture of the day they broke ground on the site. Tony and Happy stood on either side of a very, very pregnant Katie. All three wore yellow hardhats smiling at the camera, though Katie seemed more miserable than anything.

"Yeah, you kinda were. I know you come from a different time and women like her were very few and far in between, but today it's the norm. It's hard to find anyone over the age of twenty five without a kid. I don't like how Tony seems to be forcing you into this, but you do need to go out and meet people if you ever want to adjust." Steve nodded hearing the truth in his words.

Steve's lack of adjustment to modern times had left him depressed and lonely. The only friend he had was within The Avengers. Tony had advised going to a bar or club, but that was a total bust considering all the trash that passed as women kept flocking to him and touching him in places he didn't want to be touched. Tony years him for days. After that, Steve had pretty much became a hermit. Steve sigh yes rubbing the back of his neck. Maybe that was why Tony was doing what he was doing. Maybe Tony trying to hook him up with Katie was his way of saying he cared in some weird, sick way that only Tony could.

"Alright fine. I'll try to get to know Katie." They made their way to the hallway. Steve and Bruce exchanged quick glances. The hallway seemed to disappear it was so long. They could see Tony standing about some distance down the hallway talking on a phone.

"How big is this place?" Bruce wondered aloud. Steve shrugged.

"It gets bigger every year." Bruce and Steve nearly jumped out of their skin at the sudden voice behind them. They turned seeing Monkey walking behind them. "Mommy said it's time to start making it wider next year." She pushed her way in between Bruce and Steve and feel into step with them. Bruce gave her an amused look them shook head. Steve gave her a curious look.

"So, what does your mom do?" he asked. He figured he could get a little information about Katie through Monkey.

"She ruins this place, duh." Steve gave her a flat look.

"What is this place exactly?" Steve asked as they passed a door with a sign on it with hours that the room was available. Above that sign was a clipboard with a stack of registration papers on it.

"It's the best place in America! Paintball, MMA, go cart reaching, you name it, we got it."

"And your mom ruins this place how, exactly?" Steve asked perplexed.

"Uncle Tony's program helps out a lot." Figures. By that time, Monkey took off running as Tony pushed himself away from the wall and faced them. She ran into his arms giving him a hug them Tony opened the door and pushed her in closing the door behind her. Tony waited for them to reach him before he spoke.

"I take it you got over yourself," Tony said eyeing him. Steve nodded. Then he beamed. "Good. Now let's go watch Steve's future girlfriend whoop some serious ass." He opened the door again and music and talking flooded their ears. When they stepped in, Steve couldn't believe his eyes. There were people everywhere hanging around a ring in the shape of an octagon.

"Are all these people here to watch Katie fight?" Steve wondered out loud. "Of course. She and her opponent are the headliners tonight." They spotted Thor towering over the crowd shoving popcorn by the handfuls in his mouth. Tony pushed through the crowd with Bruce directly behind him and Steve behind him to make sure nothing bad happened to Bruce. People called out to Tony and he waved and shook hands. They finally reached the others. Monkey was standing next to Clint pointing to random people then Clint would flick a piece of popcorn into the target's drink.

They waited for an hour for the fight to start. The lights turned off leaving only the ring illuminated. Steve felt a little hand slide in his. He looked down to see Monkey.

"I can't see, Steve." Steve grinned at her. The entire hour Monkey had floated around getting to know each of The Avengers. However, when she got to Steve, she clung to him. She talked to him for fifteen minutes straight about all the things that she and Katie always did together. Somehow, even with running around r running a huge business, all her extracurricular activities, Katie still found more than enough time with her daughter. He had come to be an admirer of Katie's just knowing how much she actually did for her daughter.

Steve had come to like the kid. She was a very smart girl. Smarter than the average six year old. Steve imagined. Steve reached down and grabbed her, lifting her until she sat on his shoulders. Tony began booing pulling Steve's attention to the ring. A woman was standing in the middle of the ring holding her gloved hands in the air presenting herself to the crowd.

"That's Melissa," Monkey hollered down to Steve. "Mommy has never beat her, but that's going to change today." Steve grabbed Monkey's ankles when he felt her fall backwards when she threw her hands up in the air as a mixture of boos and praise erupted from the crowd.

Happy stepped into the ring showing Steve a little. He supposed it only made sense that Happy was apart of their lives as well since he was Tony's personal body guard. He pushed Katie into her corner as he whispered something directly in her ear. She began to hop back and forth on her feet wiggling her arms as if loosening up. She'd nod her head ever so often. Steve noticed three scars on her shoulder that were gathered together in a loose triangle pattern. The scars were circular and were the size of dimes.

Katie jerked her head back and forth to get a few cricks out and Happy stepped away from her. He gave her a hard look then Katie nodded her head. Happy held up his fists in front of him. Katie knocked her fists against his and he turned away to leave the cage. Tony was waiting at the gate for him. They shook hands and moved around the side of the ring until they were standing behind Katie.

Steve's body tensed almost instinctively when the bell rang. Both girls eased closer to each other both moving slowly to the right as they waited for the other to strike. The whole crowd was in an uproar. Tony and Happy shouted incoherently ring side. Melissa threw a couple quick jabs towards Katie. Katie countered by dodging to the right and swung with a haymaker connecting with the side of Melissa's head.

Melissa recovered quickly and tried to hit her with a roundhouse kick. Katie stepped back to dodge it. Melissa charged her and tackled her to the ground. The way they fell blocked Steve's veiw from what was going on. He cursed in his head. He had to admit, it was exciting watching a couple of women grappling each other in a cage like a couple wild animals.

Steve felt a small heel jab into his ribs. He glared up at Monkey who was glaring right back at him.

"You gotta move! Now!" She kicked his ribs again indicating the way she was wanting him to move. Steve Behan pushing his way through the crowd trying to get a better vantage point. He quickly learned that he was going to be bruised by the end of the fight with the way Monkey kept kicking him. He watched as Katie was thrown halfway across the mats as the bell rang signaling the end of the first round.

Katie was up in an instant sending a glare to her opponent as she walked to her corner. She looked out over the crowd spotting Steve with Monkey on his shoulders and couldn't help but scoff. Monkey was saving at her frantically. Her eyes fell on Steve. He stood staring at Katie with a small grin on his face. He really was as ruggedly handsome as Tony had let on.

She was a little more than weirded out by the fact that Tony had approached her about getting a boyfriend. Katie always assumed she was doing just fine on her own. It wasn't like she was lonely. She had a kid, it was hard to feel lonely with a kid. Or a business like she had. It wasn't like she never had a chance to find a man. She met plenty of them. And plenty of them were interested in her. She just wasn't interested in them.

Tony was suddenly in her face telling her what she had done wrong in the fight while Happy told her how to correct what she did wrong. She watched her opponent across the ring with that smug little smirk that she just wanted to bitch slap right off.

Before she knew it, the bell had rang again. Katie gave Melissa no chance to come up with a strategy and threw a superman punch trying to get it to land anywhere, but Melissa wasn't wore down enough to let a devastating hit like that land. Katie landed beside her and used the momentum of the punch to spin her around into a roundhouse kick letting it connect with Melissa's shoulder. Melissa feel to one knee from the unexpected blow. Katie was on top of her in an instant and grappled her into an arm bar, but Melissa rolled out of it quickly, but not before Katie was back on top of her.

Katie s straddled Melissa's waist and began punching her repeatedly in the face. Katie could hear the roar of the crowd, and she could hear Tony and Happy calling out to her. The bell rang again and Katie felt herself being tugged back by the ref.

Tony's and Happy's speech this time consisted of praise and "keep it ups".

"I want to take her out," Katie said looking Happy dead in the eye. Happy got that small twitch at the corner of his mouth he got whenever he was impressed and proud.

"Then take her out, Buttercup." Katie nodded as she stood up. She was more than ready for this. She could take that woman out. She knew she could. She had this in the bag.

The bell rang and Steve wasn't sure what he saw. Katie dashed for Melissa and Melissa had caught her and flipped her. Katie had screamed out in pain as a loud sucking pop came from her shoulder. Her arm had been dislocated. Steve could tell just by the way it sounded. Steve saw Tony and Happy exchange looks as Happy gripped the towel to throw in. Steve heard Monkey screaming to her mother. The whole crowd was in an uproar.

Katie stood holding her shoulder. Steve could only see her profile but he could see the anger and pain in her eyes. Her teeth were bared in a snarl. The ref went to Katie trying to get her to stop, but she shook her head. The ref looked to Happy trying to get him to do something, but Happy just stood there. Katie turned her head to Happy clearly out of breath from the pain. Steve wasn't sure what was said, but Katie nodded then looked back at her opponent who waited for her to make a move.

Katie ran for her again waiting for the right time to swing her leg around catching Melissa off guard. She landed on her side and looked up at Katie who was already coming down on top of her with another superman punch. This time it didn't miss. It didn't take a professional to know Melissa was done. The bell rang ending the fight and the whole crowd cheered. Katie didn't even let the ref announce her the winner. She made her way to the gate where Tony and Happy were already pushing people away so they could get her out of there.

Steve felt Monkey Jan her heel into his side. Steve looked up at her.

"Mommy's hurt! Go after her!" Steve began pushing himself through the crowd. He wasn't worried about her at all. He knew Katie was fine. She probably was wanting her shoulder put back in before the adrenaline wore off so it didn't hurt so bad. He had been there too many times himself. He opened the door and ducked through it to make sure he didn't knock Monkey off his shoulders.

"Just fucking do it!" he heard Katie yell as soon as he stepped out into the hallway. He heard the sickening snap of her shoulder being put back into place then a sound that seemed like a body hit the ground. He looked his head around the corner and saw Katie laying on the floor with Tony and Happy shaking their heads at her.

Monkey began to squirm on Steve's shoulders as she tried to get down.

"You killed her Uncle Happy!" Monkey squeaked as she reached her mother.

"No, she's just being dramatic." Katie's arm rose up so she could give Happy the finger. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Monkey jumped into Katie's arms making her cringe slightly but she still allowed her daughter the affection.

"You won the fight!" Monkey said jumping up and down. Katie nodded her hand. Steve could see a black eye starting to form and her teeth were stained pink from blood. "Oh and I'm not going to charge you for that last swear word you said since you were in pain." Katie chuckled as she began to pull her braid out. She looked up at Steve and grinned.

"Did you enjoy the fight?" she asked as she ran her fingers through her hair leaving small waves in her hair.

"Yes, you're very good," Steve complimented.

"Steve let me sit on his shoulders so I could watch the fight!" Monkey said grabbing her mother's attention. Steve glanced over at Tony who had that annoying Stark from. Monkey and Katie chatted away while the rest of The Avengers appeared. Katie glanced over then did a double take when her vision focused on Clint.

"Hot Shot Barton!" she yelled throwing her hand up in the air. She hurried over to him giving him a near hug which he returned. "Where the hell have you been? Everyone thought you died!" Clint chuckled.

"Been busy saving the world."

"Too busy to even send an E-mail. Come on, dude. You gotta let a bitch know you're okay." Monkey cleared her throat behind her making Katie let out a frustrated sigh. "You just need to give this up Monkey. You're going to clean me out," she said pulling out another dollar.

"I accept checks and money orders." Everyone snickered except for Katie who rolled her eyes.

"Go play before I tell Tony about your new boyfriend." Her eyes became the size of dinner plates and she took off down the hall and disappeared through a door. "Anyways, what brings you guys to my nic of the woods?" Katie asked.

"What boyfriend?" Tony asked.

"We have all kinds of stuff you guys can do."

"Seriously, what boyfriend?"

"This is every American's dream."

"Katie, what boyfriend?"

"If you want to do it, we got it." Tony grabbed her shoulders forcing her to turn towards him.

"What boyfriend?" Katie grinned.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Something beeped then a voice said, "Go for Katie." Happy unclipped a walkie-talkie from his belt and handed it to Katie.

"Katie here." The walkie-talkie beeped once more.

"You have a challenger in paint ball." Katie got a strange look.

"And you're telling me this why?"

"Because of who it is." Katie frowned.

"The Avengers." Katie frowned sending a glare to Tony. He gave her an innocent grin. She handed the walkie-talkie back to Happy then stepped to Tony. She stuck a finger in his chest.

"You're on."

"Good. Now come on, you and Monkey are staying at the tower tonight." Monkey cheered. "I've already got some clothes and stuff for you so no reason to worry."

"Let me go shower and change," Katie said walking into her changing room.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony wasn't the least bit subtle about the seating arrangements in the limo. He squished Steve and Katie as close as possible and sat Clint as far away from them as possible. Monkey sat in between Tony and Happy telling them how she was learning how to rock climb.

Katie and Steve stared at their laps uncomfortably. Steve wasn't really sure on how to start up a conversation with her. Was he supposed to sound cliche and talk about Monkey? Did he leave Monkey completely out of the situation? Did he talk about her business and how she's running it? He never had to strike up a conversation with a single mother before. He couldn't mess it up too soon because he knew Tony would never let him live it down. He watched as Katie picked away at her cuticles.

Steve wondered if Monkey's father was still in the picture. It was his understanding that a lot of people in modern times were no longer together so they had joint custody of the children involved. He also knew a lot of the cases the other parent took off on them. He wondered which it was.

She leaned away from him digging into her pocket and pulled her phone out. She began texting away. It was easy enough for Steve to just glance down and see what she was texting, but he gave her privacy. Instead, Tony had stroke up an interesting conversation with Monkey in the backseat.

"How much money have you made today?" Tony asked. Monkey pulled money out of her pocket that was neatly folded over and began to fan it out. It was fairly thick with dollar bills with some fives and a couple tens mixed in.

"Seventy six dollars." Tony scoffed looking at Katie.

"It's two thirty in the afternoon," he said.

"And I didn't even charge her for some of them."

"You really do have a problem," Happy joined in. Katie rolled her eyes.

"I just love how you're trying to strip my American right to free speech by taxing me for it."

"I love it, too," Money agreed stuffing the money back into her pocket. Katie rolled her eyes at her daughter, but she kept a grin on her face.

"I'm so glad that I could help out in your happiness."

After arriving at the Tower, everyone made their way to the elevator to the penthouse. Tony had grabbed Steve by the shoulder and pulled him off to the side as everyone was still shuffling out of the limo.

"What the hell are you doing? Or not doing, I should ask." Steve frowned at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're supposed to talk to her, you idiot! How am I supposed to be your wingman if you won't do anything yourself." Steve rolled his eyes as he so often did towards Tony.

"It doesn't help out at all that you're practically throwing her at me. What do you expect me to do?"

"Talk to her!" Tony said acting like it was the simplest thing in the world. Steve had to admit, Tony really wasn't asking for much. It wasn't too hard to simply talk to someone. Steve looked over to Katie who was talking to Happy as the others were joining in on the conversation. He could talk to her. No problem. Upon entering the penthouse, Katie announced that she was going to change into her bathing suit and get in the pool so she could soothe her sore muscles from the fight.

She disappeared down the hallway to change. Steve sat down on the couch and turned on the tv. Steve felt someone sit on the couch with him and glanced over to see Monkey sitting there next to him. She gave him a big smile then looked to the tv to watch with him. Steve shook his head.

"So what school do you go to, Monkey?" Steve asked. She shrugged.

"I don't go to school. Mommy home schools me." Steve was once more impressed by Katie. She owned her own business, still found free time to spend with her daughter, and on top of that home schooled her as well. How Katie found the way to do all that was beyond him, but he was impressed.

"So how does that work?" She shrugged.

"It just does." Steve chuckled. He turned his head when Katie walked back into the room. He couldn't help but stare. She had a plain blue bikini on with a towel wrapped around her waist. Her hair had been let down around her shoulders, the braids leaving small curls in her hair. It framed her face nicely. She had a great body. She had a slight curve to her waist. One of her legs were through the towel showing off a strong, slightly tanned leg. He grinned at her. She was an attractive woman. Her eyes locked with his for a moment but she looked away. Steve frowned. She walked out to the pool and dropped the towel from around her waist and laid it in one of the chairs and stepped into the pool.

Steve heard Clint snickering somewhere off in the corner and he turned his head. Tony was standing beside Clint with his arms crossed. Tony was shaking his head as if more than a little disappointed over something. And Steve knew that something was him. Steve shrugged his shoulders like he was clueless. Clint tried not to laugh as Tony rubbed his temples.

"You're going to get fired for being a wimp, Steve. Captain America is no wimp. America is no wimp. You got to do this, man. You know, for America," Clint giggled out.

"You guys need to lay off," Natasha snapped as she sat on the back of the couch glaring Clint's way. "But they're right." She looked back to Steve. Steve rolled his eyes standing up from the couch.

"You all just need to stay out of this."

"Why? It's much more fun like this," Tony said leaning his elbow against the bar. Clint snickered next to him.

"I'm not going to force myself on her like you guys forced her on me. I didn't even want anything to do with this in the first place."

"It's because of me, isn't it?" Monkey spoke up. Steve frowned looking at the child. He supposed he should have been a little more considerate with her around. He wasn't too sure if she knew what they were talking about. He should have known better, she was a very smart girl. He sighed running his hand through his hair.

"No, it's not because of you, Monkey." She looked up at him and Steve's heart broke into a million pieces. She had big lines of water lining her eyes that were threatening to fall. Her little lip quivered and she sniffed. He sighed. "Of course it's not because of you. It's... complicated." Monkey lowered her head as a few drops of water fell from her eyes. Steve let out a deeper sigh. "Okay, fine. I'll try harder." Steve walked out of the living room heading towards the living quarters of the penthouse. Tony walked over to the couch and patted Monkey's shoulder.

"I did good, huh, Uncle Tony?" Tony winked at her. Monkey wiped the tears away in her eyes and hopped up off the couch.

"Now I see why they call you Monkey," Bruce said a chuckle on his breath. "You had me convinced."

"I think she had us all convinced," Natasha agreed.

"I use that on Mommy all the time to get what I want." Thor laughed.

* * *

Steve changed into his swimming trunks silently cursing the Stark name. He didn't want any part of this. There was no way he would be able to have a relationship with anyone simply for the fact of who he was. He was Captain America. Even if no one knew who he actually was, there was always that off chance that someone dangerous out there that knew. They could be watching them right now. Planning an attack. Katie and Monkey could be hurt. Or killed. Or worse. He wondered if Tony knew exactly what he was trying to force him into.

He couldn't risk their lives just for the sake of not being alone. It would be selfish of him to do something like that. It didn't feel right to him. But dammit those big green eyes sparkled so sadly when Monkey looked up at him. Captain America was her favorite and he had let her down. Captain America couldn't do things like that. Right? He ran his hands through his hair again and had the sudden urge to pull it out. This wasn't good. None of this was good, but, he had to try. For America right? He could do this. He was Captain America and Katie was just a woman. There was nothing to be nervous about.

He walked out to the pool to find that everyone had already beaten him there. It eased the tension in his chest so he wouldn't have to be all awkward around her alone. That would be one sure fire way to make her run. Thor was standing on the edge of the pool with Monkey standing in his hands. He would throw her up above the pool,and she would start preforming diving stunts. She'd come back to and Bruce, Natasha, Happy, and Katie would give her a score. Tony and Clint were missing from the group, much to Steve's happiness.

"So, what are we doing?" Steve asked making his way over to the judges of the diving contest. Katie glanced at him and had to do a double take. She knew he was muscular, but not like that. He was, for lack of a better term, an Adonis. She looked away before anyone caught her staring.

"Monkey has decided she's going to be an Olympian diver so she's training." Steve got a strange look on his face then watched as Thor threw her up in the air again. Steve sat down next to Katie. Katie was smiling as she watched Monkey play with Thor.

"Can I ask a stupid question?" Steve asked. Katie glanced at him and nodded. "Monkey isn't her real name is it?" Katie laughed then shook her head.

"No. Her real name is Monica. She's named after her grandmother and I hate that woman so I gave her a little nickname." Steve gave her a strange look, but didn't press the matter anymore. He didn't want to horde her with questions because he didn't want to come off as intruding. He was curious though, was Monica her mother or was Monica Monkey's father's mother. Why would she hate her? Why would she name her daughter after her if she hated her so much?

"Mommy, Thor doesn't know how to play Chicken!" Katie looked at Monkey and gasped to add to the dramatics.

"Well, we're just going to have to teach him then, aren't we?" Katie slid into the pool slowly and shivered at the coolness of the water.

"I'm on Steve's shoulders!" Monkey called out running to Steve. Katie chuckled shaking her head. Thor jumped right into the water creating a huge splash that hit everyone. Steve hopped in carefully and put his back to the edge so Monkey could crawl onto his shoulders. She climbed on and looked down at him.

"You ready to beat them?" Steve asked looking up at her as best as he could. Monkey threw her hands in the air signaling she was ready. Thor dove under the water and picked Katie up easily.

"Okay Thor, rules of the game, knock them in the water before they knock us in the water," Katie said.

"That seems simple enough." Steve and Thor moved towards each other, Monkey and Katie ready to start their little brawl. Steve and Thor began to circle each other slowly. They came at each other, Katie and Monkey locking hands and began to push each other back and forth while Steve and Thor did the same. Thor was a god. A real god. Katie figured he would have tossed Steve around like it was nothing. Of course, he could have been taking it easy on him. Or it could have been Steve's strength that he had gotten from the serum. Either way, Katie was fairly impressed by his prowess. Before Katie knew what hit her, she and Thor was thrown back into the water thus ending the game.

Katie came up out of the water pushing her hair back so it wasn't in her face. She looked at Thor who was doing the same.

"What the hell happened, Thor? We had them!" Monkey cleared her throat sarcastically as she held her hand out. Katie rolled her eyes. "I owe you."

"Uncle Tony says never do I owe yous." Katie sighed shaking her head.

"He's dead. I'm going to kill him. The Stark line will officially end."

"What did I do this time?" Tony asked coming out to the pool dragging a grill out with Clint.

"You corrupted my daughter!" She paused for a moment watching them pull the grill along. "You mean to tell me that of all the things that you have that pop out of random areas in your place, you don't have a grill that does that? That should have been the first thing!" Tony flipped her off. Katie crossed her arms over her chest. "And now we're back to killing you!" She swam to the steps and got out to go after Tony. Tony began to run from her spitting out little taunts whenever she'd miss him. Everyone was laughing at them as she chased him around. Eventually, Katie did catch him and forced him into the water.

"That is it! No steaks for you!" Tony yelled as soon as he came up. Katie paused staring at him.

"No steaks? Who's making them?" Tony grinned evilly at her.

"Who do you think?" Katie seemed really distraught.

"Now, Tony, there's no reason to overreact. Even though you do that... a lot."

"Oh I have reasons."

"I was just kidding! I swear I wasn't going to kill you too bad!"

"You're getting a salad and water." Katie let out a sound of disappointment.

"Why are you threatening her with my cooking again, Tony?" Pepper asked coming out to join them. "You know better than that. She's the only one who appreciates my cooking around here." Tony gave her a look of disbelief then pointed to Katie.

"She threatened me!" he defended.

"More like promised," Katie mumbled.

"Well, maybe, if you would stop teaching her daughter bad habits then she wouldn't be wanting to end your legacy so bad."

"Thank you, Pepper." Pepper winked at Katie.

"Any time sweetheart." Katie splashed water at Tony and swam over to Monkey.

"And as for you!" She picked her up and threw her. Monkey squealed as she hit the water. Katie was left holding her shoulder. Monkey came up laughing, but stopped when she saw how her mother was acting. Monkey swam over.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Katie smiled at her and moved her shoulder around to show that it was nothing.

"Yeah, just moved it the wrong way, that's all." Monkey stared at her for a moment. "Go ahead and head inside. It's time for your studies." Monkey groaned. "Please don't argue."

"Fine." Monkey swam to the steps and headed inside. Katie took a deep breath and rubbed her shoulder.

"You alright, kid?" Happy asked.

"I think so. Maybe my arm wasn't set right." Happy held out his hand in invitation to her. She swam over to him to let him examine her arm. He pressed his fingers around her shoulder and had her move her arm around so he could feel if it was still out of place.

"It feels alright to me. You probably just upset it. I'd tell you to take it easy, but that's like trying to turn mud into oatmeal." Katie grinned at him.

"What if I just floated around until steaks."

"No steaks for you!" Tony snapped pointing a finger at her. Katie glared at him.

"Pepper is the one cooking them," she said as she made her way to the steps of the pool. She stepped out and a panel slid back on the side of the pool then a lift came up containing an assortment of different floaties. Katie tried to pick up a recliner like float that had heavy plastic pontoons on each side with a metal frame holding them together with a mesh sewed over the seat for the chair. Another sharp pain shot through her shoulder and she huffed in annoyance as she let it fall back to the ground.

"I'll get that for you," Steve said suddenly picking up the contraption and put it in the pool. When he looked at her, she was avoiding eye contact, though she had a small smile.

"Thank you, Steve," she said walking around him over to the grill that Pepper had just fired up. Katie put her hands on her hips as she looked around.

"You know, we need a cooler full of beer," she said. Another panel opened up right next to the grill and a lift came up with a blue cooler with a white lid on it. Katie bent over and opened it up to find several types of beer inside. She grabbed a bottle and opened it with ease. She gave Tony an odd look as she took a small sip.

"What?"

"I'm just trying to understand something." Tony returned her look.

"What?" he asked again.

"You have a cooler that randomly appears out of nowhere, but not a grill?"

* * *

At dinner, Monkey talked of Pavlov and his works. Steve couldn't believe how intelligent she sounded. He also couldn't believe how excited she was to talk about it. Katie showed the utmost interest in what she had to say and asked the occasional question to keep Monkey moving along. If Monkey got one of her facts slightly wrong, Katie would correct what she said and would let her continue. She wouldn't criticize her in any way. Katie seemed to be enjoying it just as much as Monkey was. After Monkey finished with her presentation, Katie smiled.

"That was great, Monkey."

"Pavlov was weird, Mommy." Katie gave her a questioning look.

"Well, I guess all scientists are considered weird in their own way. I mean take a look at Einstein, Da Vinci, and Giorgio Tsoukalos." Monkey gave her a flat look.

"That's not what I mean." Katie paused for a moment as if she was trying to work it over in her mind as to why she thought he was weird.

"I don't understand."

"He tied those animals up. I think he would have gotten the same results if he let them run around. Can I have a dog?" All eyes were on Katie. She stared at her daughter with a blank expression.

"Let me think on it and then we'll talk."

"I really, really, really, really want a dog."

"Noted."

* * *

Monkey sat on the couch playing a racing game with Clint. She would start trying to mess with him if he passed her in his car by smacking at his hands. Clint would lean away from her spitting innocent insults at her as she passed him up. Katie stood off by herself as she messed around on her phone like it was really important. Maybe it was. Maybe it had to do with her business. Steve really didn't want to bug her, but if he was really going to go through with anything then he had no other choice than to interrupt her.

"So, how did you and Tony meet?" he asked standing next to her. Katie looked over at him then glanced at Tony and Happy who were off in their own little world discussing something that was strictly between them. She shnothing. as if it were nothing.

"I'm Happy's half-sister so I've known him for a long time." Steve hummed at her response.

"I didn't know Happy had a sister." Katie shrugged her shoulders. It didn't really bother her that Steve didn't know about her existence. Katie wanted to keep her and Monkey a secret considering Tony's extracurricular activities. Especially after he became Iron Man. It wasn't like she was very secretive anyways, but the last thing she wanted was a villain busting through the window bent on world domination while Monkey was around. It was bad enough that she was in the tower with Monkey, but she also had the entire Avengers squad to protect the both of them.

"Yeah well you know how Tony isit isn't important unless it's about him." Steve grinned at her remark. There was silence between them for a moment before Katie spoke up. When she spoke, Steve heard the uneasyness in her voice. She seemed so uncertain with her words. He glanced down to see her picking her cuticles. "Listen, Steve, you don't have to do this." Steve frowned.

"Do what?" he asked. Katie busied herself with her phone at again as she took a deep breath.

"Happy told me what Tony was up to. That ass is always trying to get me hooked up with someone. I just can't believe it's you this time around." Steve glanced at Tony who was watching them out of the corner of his eye. It was just a game to him. He liked doing this. He must have gotten bored and decided that it was a good idea to play with other people's lives.

"So how many people has Tony tried to hook you up with?" Steve asked sitting down next to her. Katie scoffed setting her phone down again.

"Let's not talk about that. I hate that he's done this and I'm sorry. You can stop trying to seem interested." Her phone buzzed and she reached for it. She stood and walked away from him. Steve watched her walk away a little surprised that she said that. Before he had any time to comprehend her words, Tony was next to him.

"You already chased her off!" he hissed. Steve shot up sending a glare his way.

"Maybe if you didn't try to hook her up with every guy you come across then maybe she wouldn't be like this," he defended. Tony frowned.

"She knows?" Tony asked them turned towards Happy who had just sat down next to Monkey.

"Yeah. She said you do this all the time." Tony shrugged.

"That's because I do." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"You really are an asshole," Steve said walking away from him.

* * *

Later that night after Monkey got sent to bed, all the adults retired to the outside to enjoy the warm night and a mixed drink. Katie stood off to the side with Happy laughing over something while Steve stood off by himself brooding over the assholery that was Tony Stark. Once he finally decided to actually try with Katie she goes and shoots him down and somehow it all came back around to being Tony's fault. It was just his luck.

"She does this all the time, ya know," Tony said appearing next to him.

"Does what?" Steve asked though he wasn't really interested in what he had to say.

"Katie was never really interested in guys growing up because she was one of the guys. Not much has changed." Steve took a sip of his drink.

"If that's true, then how did she get pregnant?" Steve questioned. Tony stroked his gotee as he watched Katie talk to Happy.

"That's a story I'm going to leave to her to tell." Steve frowned glancing at Tony. He wasn't so sure he liked the sound of that. What was so secretive about Katie's love life to where it was only something she could tell. He supposed he understood in a way, though. It wasn't Tony's place to tell him which shocked him in a way since Tony didn't care if it was his business or not. Maybe Tony was afraid that Katie would kick his ass if he told him anything.

* * *

The next morning, Steve was awake bright and early just like he always was. He made his way into the kitchen to find Katie and Monkey in there making breakfast. Monkey greeted him cheerfully and somehow it made Steve's day so much better. He sat down next to the child while Katie poured him a cup of coffee.

"So what annoyingly happy song are we going to wake Tony up with today?" Katie asked. Steve grinned. He knew Tony was not a morning person. He always came in looking like death in the mornings with an extra grouchy attitude. Everyone was sure to steer clear of him until he had his morning coffee.

"Best Day of My Life," Monkey said after giving it some thought. Katie grinned at her daughter.

"I know it won't help mentioning how much of a bad idea this is, Miss," JARVIS said from no where.

"Then why mention it?" Monkey asked crossing her arms. Katie sighed shaking her head.

"I swear if I didn't know any better I would say Tony was your father." Steve frowned not liking the way she said that as a sudden thought crossed his mind. Did Katie even know who Monkey's father was officially? Sure her real name was Monica and she was named after her grandmother, but Steve had watched enough day time television to know that just because someone claimed a man was the father, it didn't mean they actually was the father. Monkey hopped up from the table and left the kitchen leaving Katie and Steve alone.

Steve went to start a conversation with Katie, but she held her hand up to stop him.

"Just don't. I told you, you don't have to do this." With that, she left leaving Steve feeling defeated. There was no call for her to act like that towards him. Not in the least. All he was trying to do was start a friendly conversation with her and she shot him down. It wasn't like he was going to make a pass at her or anything. Steve took a sip of his coffee wondering what he was going to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony came in looking like his normal death-warmed-over look as the song played throughout the tower. Steve stared down at his coffee cup as Tony walked over to the coffee pot to make himself a cup. He mumbled away over something that Steve couldn't quite understand, but he was sure he was cursing the small child that had decided to wake him up. After he had poured himself a cup of coffee, Tony sat down across from Steve.

"Did you see Katie this morning?" he asked running his hand through his disheveled hair. Steve huffed taking a sip of his own coffee.

"Yeah, and she keeps shutting me out." He had to answer him truthfully or else he would give him hell over the fact that he wasn't trying. Tony took a sip of his coffee and rubbed his eyes.

"JARVIS, please turn this crap off."

"I'm not allowed until I'm sure you're awake."

"I have coffee, I'm awake." The music turned off and Tony sighed in relief. "I hate that she does that." He moved his head from side to side cracking his neck. "How is she shutting you out?" Steve ran his fingers around his mug feeling the heat of the liquid under the tips of his fingers.

"Every time I try to talk to her alone, she pushes me away and leaves the room. She knows what you're trying to do and I think that's why she's pushing me away." Tony hummed.

"She'll get over herself eventually. Let's face it, Cap, you're the man of men. She'll have no choice than to give in." Steve frowned at his remark even if Tony was being nice to him. He didn't want Katie to be forced on him by no means. If Katie was interested, he was sure she would pursue him. She struck him as the type of woman that wouldn't give up once she had her sights set on whatever it was. How else would she own the type of business she did?

"I just don't think that we need to be doing this," Steve voiced thinking that it may have been a good idea considering that Tony was just waking up. Tony hummed sipping at his coffee.

"Doing what?"

"Playing matchmaker with me and her. She's clearly not interested in being with anyone. We need to leave her alone."

"She always does this. I swear, if I didn't know any better I would say she was a lesbian." Maybe she was. Of course, she had a child and that would suggest that she wasn't. Unless it had changed over the years. Was that a thing? Steve was sure that was a thing. That would explain why she was acting the way she was towards him. Then again, she was probably just angry how Tony was meddling in her affairs.

"Look, I know Katie," Tony started as if he had read Steve's mind. "I know she's lonely. I know you're lonely. Tell you what, how about you guys just be friends?" Steve frowned. Tony changing his mind? That was not a very common thing with him. Steve wanted very bad to call him out on it, but he feared that he would go back to his original plan of having Katie and Steve together.

"That would be a nice start." Tony finished his coffee and stood to grab himself another cup of coffee.

"I think they're going to the Museum of Natural History today. Monkey has never been so Katie is going to go with her. Maybe you could tag along so Katie doesn't get lost."

"I'm sure she knows her way around." Tony laughed an genuine laugh sitting back down.

"Katie has no sense of direction. Trust me on this, if she says go right, go left." Steve grinned.

"What if she says keep going straight?" Tony sent a playful glare to the Super Soldier across from him.

"Turn around and go back the way you came." Steve chuckled and stood.

"I'm going to go get ready and see if I can't talk her into letting me go with her."

* * *

"Steve! Steve! Guess what!" Monkey squealed running through the halls. She wore an adorable little sun dress. Her hair was up in a pony tail. She ran up to him holding her arms up. Steve bent down to pick her up.

"You single handed ended all wars and now there's world peace," he playfully guessed. She gave him a flat look.

"No." Steve hummed and thought about it for a moment.

"We now have a rocket ship that can go all the way to Pluto." She crossed her arms.

"No." Steve hummed one more time.

"You're going to the Museum of Natural History?" She stared at him for a moment. Steve could see the little wheels in her head turning as if she was trying to figure out how he knew that.

"Tony told you." Steve chuckled.

"Yeah."

"Can you go with us?" Steve chuckled again. Maybe this would be a little easier than he thought.

"I'm sure he has some Captain America things he has to do today." Their attention was pulled to Katie who had appeared in the hallway. Monkey looked back at Steve.

"Really?"

"Nope. If it's not imposing or anything, I'd love to go with you guys." Katie sighed shaking her head, but said nothing more on the subject. Monkey watched her mother as walked by them then looked at Steve. They shrugged at each other. They followed behind her. She passed by the kitchen just as Tony was walking out rubbing the back of his neck.

Katie stopped and stared at him. He stared back at her a mixture of emotion pooling in his eyes. Without saying a word Katie walked away from him. Steve couldn't see the look on her face, but he was sure there was a lot of things that was exchanged between the two. Steve stopped next to Tony and glanced at him.

"She's going to kill me and make it look like an accident." Tony sighed shaking his head.

"Don't worry, Uncle Tony, Mommy will get over it." Tony grinned at the child.

"I hope you're right." Monkey smiled and urged Steve to follow after Katie before she left them.

* * *

Katie was inwardly on fire with rage. She wanted to turn Tony into a Tonya in the most violent way she could think of. She sat in the passenger seat beside Steve in one of Tony's more practical vehicles. Steve insisted that he drove since Katie apparently had no sense of direction according to Tony. Katie huffed practically shoving the keys inside his body. What else had Tony told Steve about her? It was none of his business to tell Steve anything about her.

She had her arms crossed tight across her chest as she stared out the window watching as everything that was New York passed by. She heard Monkey in the back seat humming away at a random song on the radio.

"Have you ever been to the museum, Steve?" Monkey asked looking at the super soldier.

"Once. When I first... woke up." Katie glanced at him, but returned her gaze back out the window. Some of her anger bubbled down as she remembered getting a phone call from Tony saying that they had finally found the famous Captain America buried deep within ice. She knew he had to be pretty lonely considering that everything was just so different compared to what it used to be. Everyone was different. People acted differently.

"You were asleep?" Monkey asked truly curious. Steve nodded slowly and glanced at Katie.

"We've not touched too much on World War II because there's just too much to cover. Plus I think that she still might be a little too young to learn about the whole Nazi thing." Steve grinned at her understanding completely.

"I watched shows on Captain America. They said you had just disappeared. Is that when you went to sleep?" Katie saw Steve's hands clenched the steering wheel. He just nodded his response. The car fell silent for a good moment. All that could be heard was the hustle and bustle of the city around them and the song on the radio. "Well I'm glad you are awake now."

It was amazing how quickly she felt Steve relax next to her at Monkey's statement. She glanced at him and couldn't help but smile. Monkey's words had touched him the only way a child's words could.

Katie thought back to Tony and his no-so-secret plan to hook Katie and Steve up so they could have a shot at a happily ever after. As much as it always infuriated Katie that Tony liked to play match maker with her, she knew that his heart was in the right place. As it always had been. She realized that it wasn't just for her. It was also for Steve. She wondered how many friends he had outside of the team. If there was anyone he liked to go out and have fun with. When the last time he did get out to do something.

* * *

It took a whole two seconds inside the museum before Monkey began to complain about tired. Steve knew just as much as Katie that she was just doing that so Steve could pick her up. Steve didn't make any protest or argument with her. Instead he picked her up and put her on his shoulders. Katie however protested greatly to her actions.

"You've barely walked a hundred yards. How in the world could you possibly be tired? You're just being lazy. Now get down from there and use your legs."

"I don't mind, Katie," Steve said giving her a kind smile, but Katie wouldn't budge.

"Nope, this is exactly how she got Tony and Happy wrapped around her finger and I'm not going to let her do that again." Katie reached up to snatch Monkey off Steve's shoulders, but Steve politely pushed her hands away.

"I really don't mind." Katie stared at him for a moment, then glanced up at her daughter.

"Fine, you win this round." Steve heard Monkey giggle on his shoulders.

Katie stood back watching Steve and Monkey together. They walked around in each exhibit and pointed at them and talked about them and laughed. Steve seemed to be enjoying himself just as much as Monkey was. Katie had even caught herself smiling at the pair as they walked around. Steve never once seemed to get annoyed with her. He never seemed to wear down. He never once ignored her.

* * *

Steve bought them ice cream for lunch. Katie had complained fully saying that ice cream was not something that was lunch worthy, but stopped when Steve handed her a cookies and cream cone. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the pair as she slowly reached for the cone.

"Quit talking about me, Monkey." Monkey gave her an innocent look as if she had no idea what her mother was talking about, but Katie knew better than that.

They made their way to a park nearby and Monkey took off to play finally leaving Steve and Katie alone together. Steve went to say something to Katie, but she held her hand up to stop him before he could even start.

"Listen, seriously, apparently even my brat of a daughter is in on this and it's starting to get really, really annoying." Steve grinned truly amused by her words.

"And what did you think I was going to say to you?" Steve asked. Katie paused for a moment and looked at Steve. Truly looked at him. He had crystal blue eyes that she felt like she could just get lost in forever. There was a twinge of annoyance behind them. "Seriously, what do you think I was going to say?" Katie looked away from him. She couldn't answer him in the least.

"I don't know."

"All I was going to do was ask you if you wanted a napkin because your ice cream is melting all over your hand." Katie's eyes shot to her hand holding the ice cream to discover he was right. She hadn't even noticed it, not even felt the liquid running over her hand. Steve held out a napkin for her. She took it quickly and wiped the sticky liquid away.

"Aw, man, my hand is going to be so sticky now," Katie complained then licke away at her ice cream until it was no longer melting. Steve watched her with the utmost amusement as she kept trying to wipe the ice cream away. She glanced at Steve and she sighed.

"I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that."

"I really didn't." Katie grinned at him and rolled her eyes playfully at him.

He couldn't be all bad right? He was Captain America after all. Maybe she could open up to him a little.

" I know you're not interested in a relationship right now. Quite frankly, I don't even know if I am. So, how about we just be friends. No harm in that, right?"

No harm, right? Right? They could be friends. Katie could always use friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony had talked Katie and Monkey in staying for the whole week. Katie protested greatly because she had a business to run, but Monkey gave her those big eyes and Katie sighed pulling a bill from her pocket and threw it at Monkey as she said, "Son of a bitch."

Tony claimed that it was a very quiet time for The Avengers so he seen no issues with having Katie and Monkey around. Katie acted like she wanted to argue with him, but she knew that arguing with Tony Stark was a lost cause so she just dealt with it.

Steve was currently in the kitchen making himself a few sandwiches as Katie sat at the table with Thor trying to teach him five card draw.

"No, Thor! Listen, I don't know why you're finding this so damned complicated! A pair is two of the same number…"

"But not all of them are numbers!" he argued. She slammed her head into the wood of the table.

"I realize this! But common sense should tell you that a pair is two of the same, right?"

"Right."

"Then when you have two of these," she said spreading the two cards out on the table. They were two kings sitting there in their perfect royalty. "That makes it a pair."

"But you said you can have more than one pair. And I have that." Katie smiled closing her eyes as everything became clear to her.

"That's right, Thor. So, dish it out and let's see what you got." Thor smiled his godly smile and laid out the two other cards. They the two other kings in the deck. Katie bit her lip as she fought through a lot of different emotions, but settled on putting her forehead on the table.

"That's not two pair, Thor. That's what we call a four of a kind."

"And this is a good thing?" Katie sighed.

"Yes, Thor, this is a good thing. You win this hand." Thor laughed victoriously as he tossed the cards in the air. Katie held her arms out watching the cards as they fell to the ground helplessly.

"No wonder no one liked the vikings back in the day," she said as she stood to pick up the cards.

"I think I'm getting the hang on this game, Katie. Thank you for teaching me," he said ignoring her statement. Katie grinned looking at him out of the corner of her eye as she gathered all the cards up.

"You're welcome, Thor. Next I'm going to teach you how to bluff and how to spot someone bluffing." Thor hummed in thought. He had a glint in his eye that said he was going to enjoy it very much.

"Now, I know what a bluff is. It is something I use in battle whenever I see an opening for it." Katie stood fixing all the cards to sit the right way in her hand. Tony walked into the room eyeing the situation before hand. He leaned against the counter.

"It's not quite the same. Bluffing in poker means you want to try and play like you have a really good hand, but you really don't. That's where the hard part comes in." Thor tilted his head a little thinking about her words. Katie sat down at the table and started shuffling the cards.

"What's the hard part of bluffing?" Katie glanced up at him and Steve made his way into the dining room to sit at the table to eat his sandwiches. She looked to Steve with a grin as he bit into his first sandwich.

"Steve, what would you say is the hardest part of bluffing?" Steve chewed his food as he thought for an answer. He swallowed before he answered.

"Making it believable." Katie shrugged with a nod of her head then spun in her chair to look at Tony.

"What would you say is the hardest part of bluffing?" Tony narrowed his eyes as the gears in his mind went to work. He walked over to the table and sat down with them as well.

"I would say it's knowing when to bluff." Katie seemed to consider his idea as well then gave her attention back to Thor.

"They both make really good points because that is a hard part of the game, but you want to know what I think the hardest part of bluffing is?" Thor nodded leaning in closer almost as if what she was going to tell him a secret that no one else knew. "It's finding the tell." Tony hummed shaking his finger at her saying he completely agreed.

"Yes, because everyone's tell is completely different and you have just a couple hands to figure out what it is."

"What is a tell?" Thor asked as the confusion was about to set in. Katie leaned back in her chair.

"It something that someone does subconsciously that tells you the type of hand they have." Thor frowned as his confusion wasn't lifted.

"I do not understand." Katie grinned as she leaned up again to explain what it was in more detail.

"Take Tony, for example. He has three tells. Bluffing when he has nothing, when he actually does have a good hand, and when he's trying to pretend he's bluffing and wants everyone to know it but he's really got something and wants us to keep raising so he can get more money." Tony just stared at her with an appalled looked on his face. Steve started laughing at his look. Apparently Tony had no idea that Katie had him made.

"What does he do?" Thor said as excited as a schoolgirl who found out her best friend finally made out with their crush. Katie chuckled.

"Well, when he's bluffing when he has nothing, he touches his eyebrow like this," she said bringing her hand up to her eyebrow and touches her knuckle to it like she was brushing something away then lowers her hand. Tony leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "When he actually has something in his hand he won't look at his hand. And when he is pretending to not have something when he actually does he'll twirl his moustache like some thirties villain." Thor thought about this for a moment then grinned.

"I think I understand now. And you said that everyone is different, yes?" Katie nodded. Thor puffed out his chest victoriously glad that he had learned yet again another human activity.

All attention however was drawn to Monkey when she came into the room screaming at the top of her lungs. Steve and Thor quickly rose to their feet thinking the worst, but Katie and Tony simply watched her as she ran through the room and out the other side. Tony and Katie looked at each other curiously then they heard Happy screaming for her. Katie frowned and she stood. She knew Monkey had done something to anger Happy and that was never good. She would need to block him depending on what she had done to him that time around.

When he stomped into the room, it took everything in everyone's power not to bust out laughing. His hair was up in little fluffy bunny tails on top of his head. He had bright blue eye shadow all the way up to the bottom of his eyebrow. He had bright pink circles on each of his cheeks and bright red lipstick on.

"Where did she go?" he growled visibly shaking in anger. Katie stood out of his way and pointed over her shoulder. He stomped out of the room to find Monkey and as soon as he stepped out everyone started laughing.

"I don't see how he can sleep so heavy!" Katie managed to get out.

"She gets him every time!" Tony said finally managing to calm down enough to actually speak.

"Is she going to be okay? He looked really mad," Steve said looking over his shoulder to where the two aforementioned disappeared. Katie sat back down and leaned her elbows on the table.

"Oh yeah, this happens literally every time they're around each other. Happy will fall asleep and she'll make him look like a princess." Steve chuckled. "He'll eventually catch her and he'll give her a lecture on how she shouldn't do that and she'll start laughing because he never washed it off and looks absolutely ridiculous."

"Aye, you would think that he would learn not to nap around her," Thor said crossing his arms over his strong chest.

XXXXxxxxxxx

The next morning, Steve woke up with a groan. He rubbed his eyes then sat up in his bed. He looked around the room that he called his while he stayed at Avenger's Tower with the others. It was plain to him. It had almost a hotel room feel to it. It was comfortable enough, but it just didn't feel like home to him. Of course, nothing in this new time felt like home to him. The only thing that had any type of nostalgia towards him was a pin up girl picture that Tony had bought him for his birthday a few years back. It was a gag gift that Steve didn't find that funny, but he hung it anyways to amuse him.

He glanced over at the clock. It was barely 4:30 AM. He never slept much. He hadn't since he had gotten the boost from the Super Soldier Serum. Sure he was stronger, faster, and healthier than he was before, but he had to give up the full night's rest. He actually didn't need it, but he found himself being so bored since everyone else was sound asleep. Sometimes he would find himself down in Tony's lab knowing Tony's overactive mind kept him up most of the time, but he never stayed long since Tony would always seem to get distracted by something and start mumbling to himself as he tinkered away.

Steve got up out of bed and began to stretch out his muscles. He fell forward and put his palms in the ground then started doing push ups. He had to do them fast or else he never felt any kind of strain. He knew he didn't have to do any kind of workout regiment since the Super Soldier Serum always kept his body in top condition, but he always found it a perfect way to pass the time until everyone else began to awaken for the day.

After he did a couple thousand push ups, he got back up and walked to his closet to pull out a t-shirt to wear for the day. He got a clean pair of briefs and jeans then walked into his bathroom to take a quick shower. The water felt colder than it should have because of the Serum, but that was something that he grew accustomed to over the years. It still soothed his body in the ways that a warm shower should have.

He decided he would go see what Tony was up to after his shower so he took off towards the elevators to go down to his personal lab in the building. It took up three whole floors of the building and for good reason. He needed the storage space for half finished project that he would eventually get back to later once the inspiration died off for the next project.

When he made it to the lab's level he took a deep breath. He always seemed to do that whenever he knew he was about to be in the presence of Tony since Tony always seemed to give him a headache from talking too fast about too many things from sleep deprivation. He stepped off the elevator and looked around the lab in search of his friend, but found nothing. Steve frowned.

He figured he would be up. It was a hit and miss whether he would be up, but he figured since it had been slow for The Avengers lately he would be getting restless since he was unable to focus on something as important as saving the world.

"Sir," JARVIS spoke up over the intercom. "If you are looking for Mr. Stark he is in the recreational area with Katie." Steve frowned wondering why Katie was up so early in the morning. It was a little before six in the morning now. If Monkey actually went to school then he would understand why she would be up so early, but even then she would have no reason to be down in the recreational area with Tony instead of being in the main living area getting her ready for school. But since technically Monkey didn't have school so there was no reason for Katie to be up that early.

He stepped back onto the elevator and pressed the button for the recreational area of the tower. He had thought about the day before when he walked into the kitchen and Katie and Monkey were both up, but that was around eight o'clock in the morning. He had went down to the workout area of the tower after finding out that Tony was still asleep. He had worked out a little bit longer than anticipated, but he still hadn't thought much on what Katie and Monkey was doing up so early. He figured that was around the normal time they had woke up in the morning.

He stepped off the elevator when the doors slid open and heard a sound that he found a little strange. It was the squeaking of sneakers across hard floors and the bouncing of a basketball. He walked down a small hallway that opened up to the rest of the recreational area. It was one large open area with a ring to box in, a tennis court, basketball court and a couple other things to do.

He spotted them on the basketball court. Tony was wearing typical basketball shorts and sneakers without a shirt on. Katie had on a pair of sneakers a pair of basketball shorts and a back tank top. He could see the straps of her bra underneath resting a little down on her shoulders. They were completely focused on each other. Tony had the ball. Both were hunkered down. Katie had her arms spread out as if she was trying to block him as Tony slowly moved forward as if pushing her back. Steve was surprised at the spectacle before him. He had no idea Tony knew how to play basketball.

Tony spun bouncing the basketball on the other side of him then held it firmly in his hands as he faced the hoop. He bent his knees then shot the ball over Katie's head. The both watched the ball to see if it would get in, but it bounced off the rim and they both went for it. Katie jumped at the same time Tony did, but Katie got her hands on it first. She began to dribble the ball back to half court as Tony backed away to let her do so then she turned back. That was when Steve noticed the sheen of sweat on their skin. It was hard to tell how long they had been down here playing their game with each other.

Katie stalked forward slowly dribbling as she looked for her best course of action. Then she decided she was going to force her way forward almost violently pushing Tony back. Tony tried to stay on her, but Katie kept pushing him back.

"Come on, old man! Try and stop me," she spat. Tony laughed then reached his arm around trying to swipe the ball away from her. Katie took the opportunity to spin away from his outstretched arm and go for a layup. The ball went in with no problems and Tony let out a loud sound of disapproval as he bent to put his hands on his knees heaving his chest in exhaustion. That was when he looked up and spotted Steve watching them with amazement.

"Take a picture and it will last longer," he said and Katie looked to him confused then followed his gaze to Steve. She crossed her arms looking back to Tony.

"Oh come on, Tony, that saying is so preschool," she said though her breath was heavy. Steve chuckled stepping finally into the room.

"Actually, I may want to take a picture because I had no idea that Tony knew how to play basketball." Katie picked up the basketball and rested it on her hip.

"I made him learn so I had someone to play with whenever Happy wasn't in the mood to play with me." Steve shrugged his shoulders as a grin returned to his face. He watched as Tony simply walked up behind Katie and hit the basketball out of her loose grip and made for a jump shot. The basketball went through the net without hitting the rim. Katie narrowed her eyes at him crossing her arms over her chest.

"We were in timeout." Tony went for the ball before it rolled too far away. He picked it up then bounced it to Katie who caught it and went for her own jump shot. The basketball bounced off the backboard and went into the net. Katie and Tony both went for the ball, but Katie reached it first.

"I thought we were in timeout," Tony stated. Katie went to say something to him, but was interrupted by JARVIS.

"Ma'am, it seems that Monkey has awakened for the day." Katie grinned and bounced the basketball to Tony.

"Time for me to go play mommy now. We're not finished here."

"You're just saying that because you were losing," Tony snapped playfully as he began to dribble the basketball. Katie crossed her arms glaring at the playboy in front of her.

"Actually, Sir, Katie is beating you by three points," JARVIS said from unseen speakers. Katie chuckled as she walked towards the hallway that led to the elevator. Steve watched her as she stepped passed him, then looked to Tony who was nonchalantly still dribbling away. He shooed Steve away with his free hand. Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head before turning on his heel to follow Katie to the elevator.

They stepped onto the elevator in silence. The doors closed leaving Tony alone. He was feeling the fatigue start to set in and he was sure that it was almost time for him to go and get his few hours of sleep before his always racing mind woke him up so he could start the day yet again.

He dribbled the ball around for a little while longer before making another shot, but he had missed. He frowned to himself, then went for the ball so he could go for another shot. He went for layup and made the ball in. He was satisfied with himself. He began to run around dribbling the basketball, twisting and turning. He would bounce it behind his back, then between his legs then would act like he was going for another shot, but faked out and twisted once more.

"So, are you going to explain to me what's going on here?" Clint asked nearly causing Tony to fall over from the sudden shock of having someone else there. Clint stifled a laugh, but stopped once the billionaire glared at him.

"Well, I'm playing basketball. It's a sport that was invented by a Canadian back in 1891…" Clint cut him off.

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it. I find it odd that Katie said that I never sent her an E-Mail or anything since the last time I saw her was back in 1987 before the internet was really even a thing and before I was even Hawkeye. Back when Only in America was one of the first paintball arenas in the country."

"Just drop it, Barton," Tony snapped turning his back to the archer. He bounced the ball once then cradled it in his hands. "You wouldn't understand."

"I understand that she hasn't aged one bit in nearly twenty years," Clint said stepping forward. "The only thing that's different about her now is the fact that she's got a kid now. Tony what is going on?" Tony turned so fast that Clint's defenses automatically went up thinking that he was going to attack.

"That doesn't concern you," Tony snapped. "And I swear if you don't drop it right now, I will make your life a living hell. And you know that I am more than capable of doing just that." Clint snarled at the threat and stepped forward. There was no question that he would be able to take Tony on without his Iron Man suit, even with the training that Tony was getting from Steve, Natasha and himself, but he didn't want it to come to that. Tony was his friend.

"It is my concern when she's my friend." Tony scoffed in a mocking tone and rolled his eyes.

"Some friend you are if the last time you saw her was back in 1987." Clint growled, but decided against shooting back an insult. He had to keep a level head and he knew it. All Tony was trying to do was rile him up so he could be easier manipulated. He wasn't going to give him that pleasure.

"Now, Tony, I haven't went to Fury about this yet because I needed to know something first," Clint admitted quietly. He felt a shiver crawl down his spine from the look of pure hatred that shone in Tony's eyes. It was almost feral.

"You will not tell Fury and damned thing! None of this is his business. Or yours for that matter. Now I'm telling you for the last time; drop it," Tony yelled dropping the basketball beside him. Tony readied himself for a fight.

"Is she dangerous!?" Clint blurted out holding his hands up defensively. He didn't want to fight. It was too early for that. He just had to question seemed to catch Tony off guard enough to calm his feral state.

"No. What is dangerous is asking too many questions. Now I would really appreciate it that you leave," he said in a calm enough voice. Clint nodded in understanding. He turned on his heel to leave the gym. Just before he was out of sight, he stopped and glanced back to Tony who was standing on the court with his fists clenched.

"Tony, whatever is going on, you can't hide it forever," Clint said.

"I have this long," Tony snapped. Clint sighed and stepped towards the elevator leaving Tony to himself completely.


End file.
